NORTH KOREA

NORTH KOREA

Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un are going to have a meeting

Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un are going to have a meeting

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has invited President Donald Trump to meet. And Trump said yes.

The world leaders are expected to meet sometime before May.

The news followed a cryptic remark Trump made to reporters earlier in the day, when he warned of an upcoming “major announcement” from South Korea. The surprise announcement was delivered several hours later by Chung Eui-yong, the leader of a South Korean delegation who met with Trump on Thursday.

“I explained to President Trump that his leadership and his maximum pressure policy together with intentional solidarity brought us to this juncture,” Chung told reporters during the announcement, which he gave in front of the White House. Chung recently met with Kim in North Korea, he said, and Kim was “committed to denuclearization.”

“Kim pledged that North Korea will refrain from any further nuclear or missile tests,” Chung went on, adding that Kim also accepted that the South Korean and American militaries will continue to hold joint drills in the South Korean peninsula. “He expressed his eagerness to meet President Trump as soon as possible.”

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has invited President Donald Trump to meet. And Trump said yes.

The world leaders are expected to meet sometime before May.

The news followed a cryptic remark Trump made to reporters earlier in the day, when he warned of an upcoming “major announcement” from South Korea. The surprise announcement was delivered several hours later by Chung Eui-yong, the leader of a South Korean delegation who met with Trump on Thursday.

“I explained to President Trump that his leadership and his maximum pressure policy together with intentional solidarity brought us to this juncture,” Chung told reporters during the announcement, which he gave in front of the White House. Chung recently met with Kim in North Korea, he said, and Kim was “committed to denuclearization.”

“Kim pledged that North Korea will refrain from any further nuclear or missile tests,” Chung went on, adding that Kim also accepted that the South Korean and American militaries will continue to hold joint drills in the South Korean peninsula. “He expressed his eagerness to meet President Trump as soon as possible.”

Since Trump took office, the contentious relationship between the United States and North Korea has become even more strained. Trump has repeatedly referred to Kim as “Rocket Man” and once tweeted that he “would NEVER call [Kim] ‘short and fat.’”

In another tweet, Trump wrote, “North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un just stated that the ‘Nuclear Button is on his desk at all times.’ Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!”

But in the wake of the Pyeongchang 2018 Olympics, North Korea and South Korea have grown closer. The two countries’ teams marched under a shared flag, some South Korean athletes rained at Kim Jong-Un’s private ski resort, and Jong-Un’s sister, Kim Yo-Jong, met with South Korean President Moon Jae-in during the games.